Former UA president dies in Alabama

Martin led university system from 1980-84, created Fayetteville chancellor job

Former University of Arkansas President James “Jim” Martin
Former University of Arkansas President James “Jim” Martin

Former University of Arkansas President James "Jim" Martin died Saturday. He was 84.

Martin oversaw five University of Arkansas campuses upon taking over as top administrator in 1980.

Under his watch, a chancellor position was established to lead the Fayetteville campus, with B.A. Nugent named chancellor in 1981.

Previously, the University of Arkansas president led both the flagship campus and oversaw others in the system, with the schools besides UA-Fayetteville having their own chancellors, said Dan Ferritor, UA-Fayetteville chancellor from 1986-97 and interim chancellor in 2015.

"I think he was important in terms of making the decision and carrying it out," said Ferritor, who at the time served in a UA-Fayetteville faculty leadership role. "When you divide your attention between the entire system and one campus, neither of those gets your full attention," Ferritor added.

Martin left in 1984 to become president of Auburn University, where he served as the school's top leader until his retirement in 1992.

Martin died in his Decatur, Ala., home, according to obituary information provided by Peck Funeral Home in Alabama. No cause of death has been announced.

Martin, an Alabama native, earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture management from Auburn University and went on to earn two advanced degrees in agricultural economics, a master's degree from North Carolina State University and a doctorate from Iowa State University.

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He came to Arkansas in 1975 when he was hired as vice president for agriculture for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, during "some interesting times," Rick Cartwright, the division's interim associate president-agriculture-extension, said in a statement.

"The environmental movement was at its start and the question arose for agriculture, 'can the way we have been doing things be sustained?" Cartwright said.

He credited Martin, along with former Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Director Lloyd Warren, as helping establish "strategic geographic" locations for research and extension centers to host research faculty.

Martin became University of Arkansas president after a national search, and was credited with helping establish the University of Arkansas Press and increasing the use of computers as administrative tools, according to a 1984 article from the Arkansas Gazette.

He left after hiring a new chancellor for UA-Fayetteville, Ronald Carrier, who backed out of the job before an introductory news conference upon learning Martin was returning to his alma mater.

Auburn University, in noting his death, said Martin as president oversaw what at one time was the school's largest capital campaign, which raised $111 million in contributions and pledges. He also established a program to recruit top students in Alabama.

Ferritor described him as "a pretty warm guy" who "came at it very analytically."

"He tried to understand the problems and then worked on the solutions," Ferritor said.

Metro on 06/06/2017

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